Johns Hopkins Announces Appointment Of Former UMBC Assistant Coach Jamison Koesterer As Defensive Coordinator

Johns Hopkins today announced the appointment of former Blue Jay Jamison Koesterer as the team’s defensive coordinator. This news was first reported by Ty Xanders of Inside Lacrosse.

Koesterer returns to Homewood having spent the last four years as defensive coordinator at UMBC. Koesterer played for Hopkins from 2004-2007 and helped the Jays win two national championship in 2005 and 2007. He had seven goals, 12 assists, and 101 ground balls during his playing career. Additionally, Koesterer also won 176-of-318 (.553) career face-offs.

Aside from his playing career with Johns Hopkins, Koesterer also spent time with the Jays as a volunteer assistant coach in 2011 and 2012. Koesterer transformed Hopkins into one of the best face-off teams in the country, helped the team reach a 25-7 record and two trips to the NCAA Quarterfinals during his two years as a volunteer assistant with the team. Here’s the link to today’s press release.

Johns Hopkins Men’s Lacrosse Coach Peter Milliman announced the appointment of former Blue Jay Jamison Koesterer as the team’s defensive coordinator today. Koesterer returns to Homewood after spending the last four years as the defensive coordinator at UMBC.

“I am thrilled to welcome Jamison back to Johns Hopkins,” Milliman noted. ”He has a demonstrated record of success as both a player and coach and his passion for the University and the program was evident throughout the interview process. His past experiences at UMBC, Ohio State and here at Johns Hopkins have prepared him well for this position and I know that the men in our program will very much enjoy playing for him.”

Koesterer joined the UMBC coaching staff in July 2016 and quickly made an impact on the Retriever defense. His unit finished in the top 20 in scoring defense in 2017 (19th / 9.14), 2018 (1st / 7.77) and 2020 (6th / 8.40); the 7.77 goals allowed per game by the 2018 team is a UMBC single-season record. The Retrievers also finished eighth in the nation in man-down defense in 2018 and were ranked second in 2020.

“I would like to thank Jen Baker, Coach Milliman and the administration at Johns Hopkins for giving me this tremendous opportunity,” Koesterer stated. ”I am deeply humbled and incredibly grateful. Coach’s vision, philosophy and values were clear from the beginning and we are perfectly aligned in each of those areas. It is going to be my greatest honor to give back to a program that has given so much to me. I look forward to working with our players, their families and all the student-athletes at Johns Hopkins.”

Before his stint with UMBC Koesterer also spent time with Ohio State, where he was an assistant coach for four years after his two years as a volunteer assistant with Hopkins. Koesterer worked with the defense and face-off team while at OSU and helped the Buckeyes reach two NCAA Quarterfinals (2013 & 2015).

This move should be quite popular with Jays fans as Koesterer is a beloved former player and is considered one of the best defensive coaches in Division I. Indeed, he turned UMBC’s defense into one of the best in the nation during his time there, as the Retrievers were 19th, 1st, and 6th in scoring defense in 2017, 2018, & 2020, respectively. Defense has been a glaring weakness for Hopkins the last couple seasons, especially in 2020 as Hopkins was 54th in the nation in scoring defense before the shutdown.

As Jake said earlier in a Tweet, Pete Milliman nailed his first decision as head coach of the Blue Jays.